Electric lamp mount making method



Jan. 15, 1963 H. o. ROWAN ETAL 3,073,356

ELECTRIC LAMP MOUNT MAKING METHOD Original Filed Sept. 23, 1958 Invervtors: I-IavtLe D. Rowafi Jack M. COQSiW b ax f Thezir- Agorneg United States Patent 3,073,356 ELECTRIC LAMP MOUNT MAKING METHOD Hartley D. Rowan, Chagrin Falls, and Jack M. Coughlin, Mayfield Village, Ohio, assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Original application Sept. 23, 1958, Ser. No. 762,847, new Patent No. 3,033,242, dated May 8, 1962. Divided and this application Sept. 7, 1960, Ser. No. 54,458

4 Claims. (Cl. 14071.6)

Our invention relates generally to a method of making mounts for electric lamps. This application is a division of our application Serial No. 762,847, filed September 23, 1958, now Patent No. 3,033,242.

There has recently been developed an electric incandescent lamp mount embodying a so-called vertical or axial filament wherein a coiled-coil filament is arranged with its axis substantially coincident or parallel to the longitudinal or vertical axis of the mount whereby the filament is capable of operation at increased efiiciency and life as compared with similar filaments arranged horizontally or laterally of the mount axis. The mount comprises generally a conventional stem tube arranged to be vertically disposed with a press or seal portion at its lower end from which extends axially a glass arbor having a button portion at its lower end. A pair of lead wires extend generally downward from the press portion along opposite sides of the stem or mount axis and for dilferent distances beyond the arbor button with their free end portions bent laterally toward said axis where they are secured to the coiled-coil filament which extends along said axis between said end portions of the leads. In order to secure the leads against distortion upon shock or vibration, they are braced by anchor or tie wires extending from the button on said arbor. One of the anchor wires extends horizontally to the shorter lead wire and has its end formed into a loop embracing that lead wire, the other (longer) anchor wire extends downwardly at an acute angle from the button and terminates in aloop embracing the longer lead wire at a location below the level of the button and at a point more nearly midway of its length whereby to improve the strength of the mount.

The assembly of the mount, particularly that portion involving attachment of the anchor wire to. the long lead wire, is complicated by the lack of space available to accommodate the necessary tools involved in the formation of the mount and making it rather impracticable to provide the necessary equipment for curling the angularly extending anchor wire about the long lead wire. It is therefore an object of our invention to provide a unique method for effecting attachment of the anchor wire to the long lead wire. 7

Generally speaking, we attain the aforesaid object by preliminarily forming an open book on the bend of the longer anchor wire which extends horizontally outward from the arbor button a substantial distance beyond the associated longer lead wire, and we subsequently bend the said lead wire downwardly to bring the said hook into engagement with the lead wire, after which the hook is preferably clamped to close it upon the lead wire. While the other, or shorter, anchor wire may be similarly attached to its associated shorter lead wire, we prefer to attach it thereto in a conventional manner by simply curling the end thereof about the lead wire.

Further features and advantages of our invention will appear from the following detailed description of a species thereof and from the drawings wherein:

FIGS. 1 to 4' are elevations of a lamp mount showing various stages in the forming and attachment of the anchor wires to the lead wires; and

FIGS. to 8 are fregmentarily plan view of the mount I Patented Jan. 15, 1963 2 showing it in the various stages of completion correspond ing to FIGS. 1 to 4, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 1, of the drawing, the partially completed mount comprises a glass stem tube or flare 1 with coaxially arranged exhaust tube 2 and arbor rod 3 sealed and pinched together to form a press portion 4 with an exhaust opening '5 therethrough communicating with the exhaust tube 2. A pair of lead wires 6 and 7 have portions thereof sealed in said press portion 4 and extend generally downward from said press portion along opposite sides of the axis 8 of said mount and for ditferent distances, the end portions 9 and 10 thereof being bent to Y extend substantially horizontally toward said axis 8 where they are clamped about the end of a coiled (or coiled-coil) filament 11 extending generally along said axis. A pair of anchor or tie wires 12 and 13 extend horizontally from a button 14 at the end of arbor 3 at acute angles to the vertical plane including the lead wires 67 and mount axis 8, as best seen in FIG. 5. The tie Wire 12. is longer than wire 13 in orderthat, in the finished mount, it may extend downwardly atan acute angle to the mount axis 8 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

In accordance with the present invention, the longer anchor wire 12,is attached to the lead wire 6 by preliminan'ly forming an open hook 15 (FIG. 6 at the end thereof. For this purpose, a curling die 20 (FIG. 6) is employed which also bends the wire 12 from the angular position shown in FIG. 5 to a position more nearly parallel the plane including the stem axis 8 and the lead wires 6 and 7. At the same time, the shorter anchor wire 13 is also bent toward the said plane and preferably, in accordance with standard practice, the shorter lead wire 7 is bent forwardly out of said plane while a loop 16 is formed in the end of anchor wire 13 by curling die 21 and completely encircling the said lead wire 7.

In the next step, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 7, the longer anchor wire 12 is bent downwardly and slightly inward toward the plane including stem axis 8 and lead wire 6, to bring it to the position shown in FIG. 3 with the hook 15 embracing the lead wire 6. At the same time, the shorter lead wire 7 is bent back into the said plane including stem axis 8 and lead wire 6, the said lead wire 6 having remained in its initial position during the aforesaid steps. I

As a final step, the hook 15 is preferably clamped or pinched tightly on the lead wire 6 'as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 8.

During the assembly of the mount it may be supported by means including a pair of jaws 18 (FIG. 1).

In practicing the method on automatic equipment such as that disclosed and claimed in the aforesaid parent application Serial No. 762,847, the curling dies 20 and :21 are part of a mechanism which is a modification of that shown in Patent No. 2,085,578, John Flaws, Jr. As part of the curling operation, the shorter lead wire 7 is bent forward (normal to the plane of the lead wires 6 and 7) about its point of emergence from the stem press 4 by a pusher plate 65, as indicated by the portion of said lead wire 7 in FIG. 6. I The said lead wire 7 is firmly held between said pusher plate 65 and a notch in a guide plate 67.

Then, the anchor wires 12 and 13 are bent from the position shown in FIG. 5 to that shown in FIG. 6 so that they lie more nearly in a line and across the upper faces of jaws 51 (FIG. 2). The anchor wire 13 then also lies across or against the lead wire 7, whereas the anchor wire 12 is still spaced somewhat from the lead 'wire 6 which has not been displaced as has the lead of the curling dies 20 and 21 alternately past the arbor button 14 that the lead 7 and the anchor wires 12 and 13 are arranged to extend to one side of a plane through the mount axis.

With the lead wire 7 firmly clamped in the V notch of the guide plate 67 by pusher plate 65, and the anchor Wires 12 and 13 firmly clamped by jaws 50 and 51, the free ends of the anchor wires are curled successively by the curling dies 20 and 21 (FIG. 6). The movement of the dies is such that the end of shorter anchor wire 13 is curled by die 21 into a closed loop completely encircling the lead wire 7, whereas the end of the longer anchor wire 12 is curled by die 20 only sufficiently to form an open hook 15 lying in a horizontal plane. Each die and 21 has a sloping face 22 with a hollow or groove 23 therein for engaging the end of the anchor wire 12 or 13 and progressively bending it as the die moves forward. The sloping face terminates in a semicircular notch 71 adapted to form the wire into a hook or loop. The die 21 is moved forward sufiiciently to form the end of a wire 13 into a complete loop 16 around the lead 7 whereas the die 20 is moved forward sufliciently only to form the wire 12 into an open hook 15.

After the hook forming operation, the longer anchor wire 12 is bent downward at an acute angle and slightly back toward the lead wire 6 so that the hook portion 15 of the anchor wire embraces the lead wire 6 at a point below the arbor button 14. The bending of the anchor wire 12 is effected by a camming or wedging finger or blade 85 (FIG. 3) which is moved endwise towards the mount from the front thereof; an oblique or inclined cam face on the under side of the finger 85 engages the anchor wire 12 and bends it toward and against the lead wire 6 and downward to the positon shown in FIG. 3. During the bending of anchor wire 12, the lead wire 6 is backed up near its upper end by the front edge of a blade 87 which is moved toward the mount from the back thereof; the lead wire 6 is also securely clamped near its lower end between jaw members 88 and 89 to assist in holding it securely in place as well as to properly align it in case it is for some reason misaligned. The jaw 88 comprises spaced finger portions provided with V notches to gather in the lead 6 which is clamped therein by the face of the cooperating jaw 89.

The shorter lead wire 7 is bent back into the vertical plane including the stem axis 8 and the' lead wire 6, as shown in FIG. 7, by cooperating jaws 93 and 94 which are of the same design as jaws 88 and 89, respectively. With the lead wires 6 and 7 clamped by the pairs of jaws 8889 and 93-94, the filament'll may be stretched and set to a desired pitch by bending the lateral end portions 9 and 10 of the leads 6 and 7 in opposite directions as shown in FIG. 3. This operation may be effected by a pair of finger jaws 95.

The anchor wire 12 is preferably more firmly connected to the lead wire 6 by pinching or clamping the hook 15 securely thereabout. To that end, the book 15 may be clamped between faces of a pair of stud-like jaws 126 (FIGS. 4 and 8). In case the loop 16 in anchor wire 13 has sprung out of position, it may be realigned by closing thereon a pair of jaws 127 which, in their closed position, are spaced apart a distance approximately equal to the diameter of the loop 16.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In the assembly of a lamp mount the method which comprises preliminarily, assembling a glass stem having an arbor projecting axially from an end thereof, with at least one lead wire extending from said end of the stern in a fixed position longitudinally of the axis of said stem beyond the free end of said arbor, and at least one anchor wire having one end fixed to said free end of the arbor and extending substantially normal to said stem axis in a direction generally toward and a distance substantially beyond said lead wire, and then forming an open hook in the free end of said anchor wire while maintaining said lead wire in its said fixed position, and subsequently bending said anchor wire against and along said lead wire to extend at an acute angle to the stem axis with the said hook embracing said lead wire.

2. In the assembly of a lamp mount the method which comprises preliminarily assembling a glass stem having an arbor projecting axially from an end thereof, with at least one lead wire extending from said end of the stem in a fixed position longitudinally of the axis of said stem beyond the free end of said arbor, and at least one anchor wire having one end fixed to said free end of the arbor and extending substantially normal to said stem axis in a direction generally toward and a distance substantially beyond said lead wire, and then forming an open hook in the free end of said anchor wire while maintaining said lead wire in its said fixed position, and subsequent bending said anchor wire against and along said lead wire to extend at an acute angle to the stem axis with the said hook embracing said lead wire, and then pinching said hook to securely clamp it to said lead wire.

3. The method of manufacture of a lamp mount which comprises preliminary assembling a glass stem having an arbor projecting axially from an end thereof, with a pair of lead wires extending from said end of the stem in fixed positions generally longitudinally of the axis of the stem and for diflferent distances beyond the free end of said arbor with their free end portions bent laterally toward said axis where they are secured to the ends of a coiled filament which extends along said axis between said end portions of said lead wires, and with an anchor wire having one end fixed to said free end of said arbor and extending substantially normal to said stem axis in a direction generally toward and a distance substantially beyond the longer one of said lead wires, and then forming an open hook in the free end of said anchor wire while maintaining said longer lead wire in its said fixed position, and subsequently bending said anchor wire in a direction beyond the free end of said arbor and against and along said longer lead wire to extend at an acute angle to the stem axis with the said hook embracing said longer lead wire.

4. The method set forth in claim 3 including the additional step of pinching said hook to securely clamp it to said longer lead wire.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. IN THE ASSEMBLY OF A LAMP MOUNT THE METHOD WHICH COMPRISES PRELIMINARILY, ASSEMBLING A GLASS STEM HAVING AN ARBOR PROJECTING AXIALLY FROM AN END THEREOF, WITH AT LEAST ONE LEAD WIRE EXTENDING FROM SAID END OF THE STEM IN A FIXED POSITION LONGITUDINALLY OF THE AXIS OF SAID STEM BEYOND THE FREE END OF SAID ARBOR, AND AT LEAST ONE ANCHOR WIRE HAVING ONE END FIXED TO SAID FREE END OF THE ARBOR AND EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO SAID STEM AXIS IN A DIRECTION GENERALLY TOWARD AND A DISTANCE SUBSTANTIALLY BEYOND SAID LEAD WIRE, AND THEN FORMING AN OPEN HOOK IN THE FREE END OF SAID ANCHOR WIRE WHILE MAINTAINING SAID LEAD WIRE IN ITS SAID FIXED POSITION, AND SUBSEQUENTLY BENDING SAID ANCHOR WIRE AGAINST AND ALONG SAID LEAD WIRE TO EXTEND AT AN ACUTE ANGLE TO THE STEM AXIS WITH THE SAID HOOK EMBRACING SAID LEAD WIRE. 